Canary
by Urufu-chan
Summary: Deidara doesn't know why Itachi decides to help him when he's sick, and the Uchiha prefers the reason to remain a secret. Light Yaoi, Fluff. One-shot. Enjoy!


**W00t! That's another oneshot for me! Eh... This one was very... Phfffft for me. I couldn't think of anything other than the EXTREMELY over-done concept of "taking care of the other when sick". I'm sorry, I really am, but I was just... STUCK on this idea. Plus, I can relate to Dei-chan here. Haha... Also this was a request by Rei-chan's Birdie, and I apologize that this could've been better, but it's just... I swear the character of Deidara is just... cursed or something! I'm a total FAIL when it comes to him. It's like, urg... I should give up him Haha... *sweatdrop***

**Thankx ta meh editor: Dragonzflyte (Thank you for caring, hun. But I still think you're evil. XD)**

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As each day goes by, we find ourselves over-looking certain aspects of our life that slowly but surely begin to differ. We usually don't notice the way the seasons change, or how the trees look brighter and livelier. We don't notice when our nose starts to itch, or when our throats start to scratch and our eyes burn. We don't notice when we sneeze or cough, or when our eyes turn red and watery; passing it off as the dust. We don't notice when we start getting subtle headaches, and we certainly don't notice when the room suddenly gets colder. We actually don't notice a lot of things. Some people may, but most of us are so busy that we don't notice until we are stuck in bed, unable to get up.

Same is true for a certain blonde bomber.

It was that time again, allergy season, the most accursed time of the year, where winter became spring and all the pollen flew off the trees and into the air. Deidara was an active Akatsuki member, which meant he was extremely busy most of time. Even though he had to go through it every single painful year, it always somehow managed to slip his mind until it was too late. Now bed-ridden, he had to stay behind while his teammate finished the mission they were assigned with Zetsu, the freakish plant man.

Groaning tiredly, he flipped over onto his stomach, licking his pasty lips. He couldn't breathe through his nose, so he had to keep him mouth open, something that was bothering him greatly. The worst part was he couldn't sleep either. The fever he had was keeping him up, and even though he wanted nothing more than to sleep peacefully as soon as he began to drift off the fever would make his slight dozing fitful and uncomfortable. There were purple bags under his eyes, long dull blonde hair flowing onto the pillows around him; having been taken out of its usual ponytail a while ago.

The door to his room creaked open, letting the light from the hallway flood in. Deidara groaned again and turned over to the other side, pulling his sheets over his head. The person walked in, leaving the door slightly ajar. They took careful, soft footsteps, something the bomber was incredibly grateful for, considering his aching head. The person neared the bed, sitting in a chair that was conveniently placed by the bedside. They shuffled around a bit, leaning against the mattress and reaching their hand over. A cold hand rested against Deidara's forehead, causing him to jump a little, tired eyes following the pale hand up to its owner.

Through bleary eyes he could make out an Akatsuki member looking down at him, removing their hand and tapping a cold metal thermometer against his chin. Deidara slowly opened his mouth and shuffled around, trying to get a better angle to see his care taker, when a smooth voice froze him in his tracks.

"Stop moving." Deidara heart skipped a beat when he heard the cold, unmistakably emotionless voice address him. Looking up again, he could make out two deep grey eyes staring back at him with a glazed quality to them.

Itachi.

"Ngh…what are you doing here, un?" Deidara croaked out, as the thermometer was pulled out by the Uchiha. Itachi stared at the small digital screen for a few seconds before muttering something. He placed the thermometer down on the nightstand, picking up a white soaked cloth and placing it upon Deidara's head and eyes, shaking his head disappointedly.

Deidara peeked at the Uchiha from under the cool cloth, taking in his dishevelled state. Itachi's presence was strangely calming to him, no matter how strange it might've sounded. Itachi shuffled around some more, pulling a glass of water from the nightstand and clutching something in his hand.

"Sit up." He commanded, waiting impatiently for Deidara to sit up, leaning against his weak arms for support. Itachi slipped the pill into the bomber's mouth and help him drink the water, pushing him back down to the bed gently when he was finished. Deidara was confused, why was Itachi doing this for him? They weren't even teammates, it didn't matter if he was sick, and Itachi still had Kisame.

"Why are you doing this for me, un?" He croaked out again as the cloth was replaced on his head. Itachi ran his hand over Deidara's eyes, willing them shut. Itachi was silent for a moment, but then he answered, impassive as ever.

"Pein-sama ordered me too." Well that explained it. Even though Deidara knew it had to do with something of the sort, part of him still wished that the Uchiha was there of his own free will. He sighed, sinking deeper into his soft bed. Soon after, he had fallen into a fitful fever-induced sleep. He was calmed however, when a pale hand tenderly ran across his cheek.

Itachi was caressing Deidara's cheek softly; watching as the twitching of Deidara's tense muscles died down. He looked on at the bomber with what one could only assume was fondness, tracing his fingers along every contour of the teen's face. A sigh escaped his graceful lips as he ran his hand through the long, silky blonde hair that was spread out artfully on the mattress and pillows around him. This seemed to calm the bomber even more, as his breathing slowed to a gentle pace from quick intakes of breath.

.

Pein walked along the hallways, slightly annoyed. One of the members of his organization just had to fall ill during a mission. It was inconvenient for both him and the artist. He groaned to himself uncharacteristically, his shoulders slumping. This was going to set him back.

Speaking of which, he decided to pay a short visit to Deidara. He couldn't have any of his members dying on him now could he? As he approached the door, he noticed that it was open just a crack. Pushing the door wide open, he was met with the sight of Itachi sitting in a chair beside Deidara's bed; the bomber sleeping somewhat calmly with a rag draped over his forehead and eyes.

"What is going on here?" He asked aloud, turning his attention to the Uchiha teen. Itachi remained impassive, looking the leader blankly in the eye. "Nothing I assure you, Pein-sama." Pein raised an eyebrow but said nothing afterwards, exiting the room soundlessly. He was baffled, that was for sure. He couldn't imagine why someone like Itachi would want to stay by someone like Deidara's side, but you know what they say.

Teens are crazy.

.

Itachi looked at the opening of the room for a little while after the leader left, unconsciously biting his lip. Moving towards the door, he shut it with a soft click. He was distracted however, by the sound of Deidara twisting and turning in his bed. The Uchiha ran his hand through the blonde's hair again, muttering something under his breath.

He finally gave up and crawled into the bed next to Deidara, staying on top of the covers while the latter was safely tucked under. He brought the burning teen into his embrace, still stroking the long blonde locks. He place gentle kisses to the back of his head, calming him and muttering sweet nothings that the unconscious bomber couldn't and wouldn't remember in the morning. The teen relaxed completely, falling limp into the Uchiha's arms.

Itachi looked down at the boy's face and frowned slightly. There was a light pink tint streaking across his nose and cheeks, an obvious sign of the fever. He ran his cold hand along the latter's face once more, cherishing the moment.

Even though he hated when his little canary was in pain, he still almost enjoyed it when he was sick because of times like these.

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**So yeah... eh... I'm still sorry I didn't put enough love into this. X_X Don't kill me...ack! ^w^ Like I said, Deidara's just NOT my cup of tea... **


End file.
